Industrial Engineering & Management

Quality Improvement Approaches and Models in Healthcare

Abstract

Shewit Woldegebrie, Daniel Kitaw and Birhanu Beshah

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to review the efforts made to improve quality of healthcare by assessing the existing healthcare quality improvement models and to approach alternative directions for future research in the area.
Design/methodology/approach: Service quality improvement approaches in healthcare and the existing models of quality improvement are reviewed from published research papers in different journals. Totally, 38 articles were reviewed and based on the relevance with the research topic, 15 articles were screened out for further examination and analysis of their contents. Lecturer
Findings: In the literature survey, different approaches of quality improvement in healthcare were reviewed. The focus of most of the approaches was on a holistic way of improvement. Accordingly, general improvement models were provided to enhance quality in healthcare. This is a good input for improvement. But an explicit focus on major activities in the sector such as; demand management in healthcare, supply chain management in healthcare, referral system management in healthcare and others need further study as they help in bringing better and focused quality improvement in the sector than following a general approach.
Research limitations/implications: Improving quality in healthcare is a determinant issue as there is a work of life perpetuation in the sector. This improvement should be considered in different directions regardless of following a general approach. Studies on explicit healthcare activities should be there to bring the required change in the sector.
Originality/Value: This study gives a new direction on the specific approach to improve quality in healthcare and show ways for better quality improvement.